Grave Sweeper
by arpeggi
Summary: Hazel is the average Chicago girl who's living with her frineds in a tiny appartment in the middle of the city. There's a problem though: rent. When Hazel takes a job at the local cemetary, she doesn't know what she's getting into. Who was Elizabeth Masen
1. Intro No place like home

_What's this? A story in tiny readable paragraphs? By Emma? Are we talking about the same Emma who writes giant blobs of unreadable words? Yes! It's taken me twice as long to write as the just type style I used in Forever Dreaming and Waking up, but here it is! Enjoy! _

_ Emma_

**Grave Sweeper**

Intro- No place like home

I'm sure Chicago is a great place to some, but to me, it's just home. And with home comes the few relatives you love and hang out with... And the thousands of ones that get under your skin at every turn. But it's home and you're with family, so I've developed a grudging liking for this little shoebox we call an apartment despite my "hate this place" attitude towards Chicago.

Right now I live with my two best friends Camilla aka Millie, Missy whose real name is Marissa, and our pets, while our friends Jake and Lou live next door to us.

Millie is a little taller than me with long silvery blonde hair that thinks is annoyingly straight so she keeps it tied up in buns, and she has pretty powdery blue eyes.

Marissa is Spanish looking with a dark tan, long wavy black hair and big emerald green eyes that she uses to get whatever she wants. Whatever she wants usually involves more bracelets, giant hoop earrings or chocolate from the corner store.

Jake is tall, with messy dark brown hair, pale skin, and an easy smile, and Lou is his mom, but she treats us like we're her kids too.

I swear we wouldn't make it one day without her; she's constantly reminding us to do important things we never remember like locking up at night, buying food, and paying rent. Yeah, we need her.

Lou is medium height with a few strands of gray in her strawberry blonde curls, and the prettiest golden eyes that make you want to tell her everything about you. She told us she's forty, but she looks like she's the same age as us if she hides her little streaks of gray hair.

Like I said, her name's Lou, but half of the time we call her mom, and that just makes her glow with happiness. She's been divorced from Jake's dad since he was four, and she's never remarried since. I think it's a little strange because she's like the nicest person I've ever met, but I guess she just hasn't found anyone who's nice back to her.

Me? I'm about 5 and a half feet tall, with blue-gray eyes, long black eyelashes, permanently pink skin, strawberry pink lips, and shoulder-length, wavy, golden-blonde hair.

My name is Hazel Relloir; I am 20 years old, and I am looking for a job.


	2. Checking the classifieds at 5:30

**Grave Sweeper**

Ch1- Checking the classifieds at 5:30

I was sound asleep and dreaming pleasant dreams about the beach I used to go to with my parents when I realized there was something wrong with the scene. There was a blaring noise that did not belong there. Slowly as though I were dragging weights through water, I came back to myself, and while the beach faded, the noise grew.

Beep beep beep.

I didn't move, and it took me a moment to figure out what it was. Without opening my eyes I realized it was the silver alarm clock that was sitting on the lowest shelf.

Beep beep beep.

Ugh, why did I buy that stupid alarm clock? I didn't; Lou bought it for me, and it would be mean to not accept it. Darn my conscience, it's getting on my nerves.

Beep beep beep.

Why did I set it to go off so early? I didn't. Wait a minute; Missy said she would get back at me for borrowing her make up without asking. I guess this is her revenge.

Beep beep beep.

Better question is why haven't I turned it off yet? A logical little voice in the back of my head who was not as annoyed as I was with the alarm said quietly, _because that would mean admitting you're awake which is not something you want to do right now. _

Damn it I'm right.

I was just about to roll over to turn it off when I felt a heavy weight on my torso. Missy had pounced on me and was now exclaiming, "Haze you're no fun! I try to get revenge by waking you up at an unearthly hour, waking myself in the process, and you just lay there like your dead!"

I decided I would have my fun and not admit to her I was about to cave in. Instead I moaned, "I need coffee." Missy responded with a disapproving little _tsk, tsk _and got up allowing me to fully fill my lungs with oxygen again.

I cracked my eye a little and looked around my bedroom. It was hardly more than a closet and yet by some miracle we had managed to fit a queen sized bed into the little space between the walls with just enough room to walk around three sides.

I didn't have a closet and there simply wasn't enough room for a dresser, so I had all of my belongings stacked haphazardly on slate blue shelves.

It was tiny and cozy and that was the way I liked it.

The walls were painted with scenes of beaches I probably wouldn't see again in real life. My comforter was plain white cotton with starfish and seagulls I had hand embroidered on, and my pillow was pale yellow and stuffed with downy feathers.

_It looked so inviting._

I was about to go back to sleep when Millie burst in with a tray covered in coffee and donuts from the bakery down the street. I blinked and mumbled, "Coffee?" She laughed her clear little giggle and sat down on the edge of my bed holding out the tray for me. I grabbed the blue mug with a big white flower on the side and gulped down about half before I reached for a donut to go with it.

I was happily munching away when I looked up at Millie curiously, "What's with the special treatment? And why aren't we eating in the kitchen?"

Millie smiled mischievously and looked out my window, saying, "No reason you need to worry about just yet." Normally I would have been suspicious at that point, but the donuts and coffee were just too tempting right now.

I noticed for the first time what Millie was wearing; it was a white linen dress that was accented with ivory eyelet lace that reached to just above her knees. This would have been fine if it weren't for her hair.

It was not tied into one of her customary knots, but instead hung down around her shoulders like sheets of silvery rain. It was pretty and professional looking. That's when it clicked.

I was mortified to say the least. If her hair was down that meant it was (gulp) interview day.

I jumped up and pointed accusingly at her; I screeched, "This is a set up! You're going to take me to look for a job aren't you?"

She shrugged, and still smiling said, "Well why else would I bring you breakfast in bed? And there was a reason behind the alarm clock going off at five o' clock, even if Missy did enjoy making you get up early."

I sighed in defeat, and sinking back onto my mattress I muttered, "Traitor... But I guess you're right..." Millie stood up brushed the crumbs off her dress and said, "Yup, I am right. So no complaining, let's look through the newspapers and see what we find."

With that she turned on her heal and left me to get dressed. Still grumbling about being betrayed, I pulled on a bright turquoise camisole, a button up gray hoodie, and dark jeans with silver stitching. I then moved to our bathroom and tackled my hair. After quite a while of brushing out knots, I pinned up my hair into an elegant ponytail and clipped on the mother of pearl barrette I had gotten when I was twelve. I then reached behind the medicine cabinet and pulled out my earrings.

The only ones I even bothered trying to keep safe from Missy had a special compartment located behind the medicine cabinet, because they were special to me. They were post earrings with Chinese writing near the top, three white gold diamonds dangling off of that, and at the bottom of the little chain was a piece of dark green jade centered on a piece of scalloped white gold that framed it nicely.

They were plain by Missy's standards, but I loved them dearly and wore them on special occasions.

Deciding I was presentable, I walked down our spiral staircase, and was met by Lou who dumped a stack of newspapers into my arms.

I pouted over the stack and asked her, "Is this how you greet me? No hugs? Just dumping a pile of newspapers on me?" Her answering laughter was like a sparkly new wind chime tinkling with a breeze.

She smiled widely at me showing her array of blindingly white teeth and said in an amused tone, "Yes, isn't this how I always greet you Hazel?"

I walked over to the kitchen table and started sorting out the classified ads because it was inevitable that if I tried to protest they would blackmail me into it. They would probably lock my room and bribe me with the key like they did last time I tried to resist their plans.

Looking through them I saw one for a mechanic at "Al's garage" one for a dental assistant at "No-pain Dentistry with Dr. Jones" and one for a telephone psychic at "Auntie Lola's Phone Prophecy Service" I shook my head no at each of them. Do I look like any of those? No.

We sat in silence broken only by the rustling of pages, the occasional laugh, and the suggestions of certain ads. All in all, it was so boring I thought I might prefer being in the deepest flaming pits of Hell that the devil had to offer. At least he would probably have a reasonable job idea for me.

I had just stood up to announce I was done with this search, Lou said, "Hazel listen to this: Attendant of graves needed for the St. Lucia churchyard; no experience required. Full description of job can be found at front desk."

It didn't seem like a great job to me, but Missy burst out laughing, and she just managed to choke out, "Yeah, our little neat-freak can go sweep graves! She'll have the place sparkling by the next day!" Everyone else laughed with her except for Lou. She frowned at them.

"Now really, is that any way to treat Hazel? It was just a suggestion for crying out loud! And at least she has a sense of organization unlike someone I know." Lou suddenly reminded me very much of the nasty kindergarten teacher I'd had when I was little. Apparently she had a similar effect on them because they all quieted down like she had whipped them with a belt or something.

I felt the heat in my face die down a little, and I said just to prove Missy wrong, "I think I'd like to ask about that one."

Jake looked at me like I had three heads, and said, "But why? Do you really want to see people being buried? Or their family members crying over them? It sounds a bit morbid to me."

I shrugged indifferently, and said, "Well it sounds better than working at "Al's garage" if you ask me. Besides, so far it's the only one that says no experience required. I think I should at least ask. What could it hurt?"


	3. Hazel's hired!

**Grave Sweeper**

CH. 2- Hired!

After much argument and questioning of my sanity, we piled into Millie's cake delivery van and started driving towards St. Lucia churchyard. I heard Missy sigh dramatically and I looked up.

She noticed my glance and explained, "Don't get mad, but I had a bet with Millie you wouldn't look for a job today, and now I'm mourning the loss of twenty perfectly good dollars down the drain."

I responded with an elbow to her ribs and let the air out of my lungs in a frustrated little 'hmph'. She just looked out her window and rubbed the area where my elbow had just made contact.

I turned back to Lou and asked her another impatient question. "Lou," I whined, "How far away can this church possibly be?"

She smiled kindly and said, "Only a few minutes until we reach it now; if you look out the window you can see it up the street." I of course made a complete fool out of myself and pressed my face to the window in my eagerness to see where I might be working in a few days.

The church turned out to be a huge field on the outskirts of town with a small church on top of a rolling hill. I was immediately more attached to St. Lucia's than the giant downtown Orthodox Church Lou sometimes dragged me to.

As we drew closer I saw that the beautiful glass windows were more of flowers than of religious scenes, and those that were traditional Christian windows seemed quite a bit more antiqued than the floral ones. The graves weren't even that scary or overcast like most I'd seen before. I even saw people slicing cake and having a little party around one of the larger graves.

We pulled over and everyone sprinted up the long country driveway that led to the church's front doors. As soon as Jake pulled open the heavy wooden door, I was greeted with the scent of delicate potpourri that was drifting towards us from a huge bowl in the middle of the front room.

We stood uncomfortably like strangers in a tight elevator until a plump elderly woman with rosy cheeks and a bun of white hair came walking out of what I took to be the main service room and noticed us.

Smiling sweetly she asked, "What brings you all here today? Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I don't think I recognize you from mass. Are you new here?"

Cheered up by the fact that this woman was so kind, we explained that we had seen the ad in the paper and were here to inquire about the job. The old woman welcomed us warmly and told us her name was Mrs. Williams. After introductions were passed around, she led us down a short hallway to an old mahogany door with a bronze plaque that read "Minister's Office" and said, "Wait here while I get Minister Cameo out of his office."

She disappeared behind the door for a few moments, and Lou abruptly stood and excused herself to the bathroom, which I thought odd because she had gone just before we left. But before I could think about it anymore, the minister walked out of his office to interview me.

Minister Cameo was a middle aged man with wiry silver hair and bright emerald green eyes. The way he smiled confirmed that he was an easygoing man much like Mrs. Williams had been. I briefly thought maybe they were adding something to their communion wine, but I dismissed it immediately; these people seemed to be genuinely nice. He stood with his hands clasped in front of us and asked brightly, "Well which of you is up for the job? I hope you all aren't here to apply because we really can't afford to have more than our current staff and one attendant, and I honestly don't know how I'd decide who to hire!"

Before I could stand Missy was on her feet and shaking hands with the minister and saying, "Well we're just Hazel's emotional support, your job applicant is sitting right there!" She then grabbed my wrist and yanked me up into a standing position nest to her.

As I sulkily rubbed my wrist and glared at Missy (who was grinning like an overgrown Cheshire cat wearing big hoop earrings) in an exaggerated manner, I looked up at Minister Cameo and said, "Yeah, I guess Missy here stole my thunder, but I am the job applicant."

The minister then launched into a silly interview with questions like, "What color is your mailbox?" and "What was your most recent pet's name?" while trying to keep a straight face. Then he said, "All right, my game of twenty questions is almost over, just answer this last one and we'll decide if you're accepted." e took a deep breath and asked in a serious voice, "Are you religious in any way, shape, or form?"

That was a touchy subject, and considering I was in a church, I really didn't want to insult anyone. I spoke as though I were treading on broken glass, "Well," I said carefully, "If you mean do I go to church any time other than Christmas or Easter, than no, not really, but I always did think the world was just too crazy and amazing for it to happen with science. Does that make sense?"

When I looked up from my shoes, Minister Cameo was smiling widely. He replied, "Yes, Hazel, that is a good explanation for it, and I think you'll fit in just fine here at St. Lucia's. You're hired!"


	4. Celebrate!

_Kind of short chapter, but I promise there's a sort of plot "explosion" if you will. I will not be able to stop myself from writing after this chapter._

Grave Sweeper

Ch.3- Celebrate!

As soon as "hired" crossed Minister Cameo's lips, everyone but Lou (who was still in the restroom) rushed forward and Jake lifted me onto his shoulders. I was screeching at him to set me down, but he just grinned and sang out "Congratulations Hazel" in every language he knew.

That took a while because he used to travel a lot with Lou and learned a few phrases from each location.

When he was finally done he paraded into the front hall with me still sitting atop his shoulders like a rag doll. Missy and Millie were dancing around me shaking their hands and telling anyone who passed us by that "That's our Hazel up there!"

Lou was still nowhere to be seen.

I personally wanted to die of embarrassment, but I guess living with Millie and Missy for so long has gotten to my head, because I was actually kind of enjoying the special treatment.

We were just walking out of the front door when Jake spun around, and I saw a woman standing before the big bowl of potpourri I noticed earlier and pinching little bits and sprinkling it around herself. Her lips were moving so quickly I thought she was trembling, but she stood tall and unshaken; I would have to find out how she spoke so fast.

When she turned, I saw it was none other than Lou. She stared straight through me and continued her mumbling. Her honey gold eyes seemed wrong, like they weren't hers anymore; I wanted to run in that moment and I realized why a moment later.

Her irises were glazed over and an unseeing coal black in color. All that remained of their normal gold was a little circle around her pupils, and even they looked listless and dull.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. I wanted to be anywhere but here, and it felt like the church's happy atmosphere had fallen away like a dropped veil, revealing something blacker than Lou's unnatural eyes.

But then Jake turned again and I couldn't say if I actually saw it, or if it was the lack of oxygen to my brain from screaming at Jake so much.

It's hard to believe how life changing a single millisecond can be.

I looked behind me and Lou was gone. Jake looked up and said, "What's got you so distracted? You were just cursing at me a minute ago, and now you're all quiet. Have you finally decided to just enjoy yourself?" I shook my head down at him distractedly while glancing over my shoulder again.

"No," I began, "I just thought I saw something..." I trailed off when I saw Jake's expression turn from happy-go-lucky to serious and almost angry, to concerned, and then back to cheerful.

"Must've been the incense getting to your head, it was probably nothing." But he said it too fast and too cheerful, and the rapid change in his face only confirmed it.

_He's hiding something._


	5. Delirium

Grave Sweeper

**Ch. 4- Delirium is controlled by another-**

He didn't say anything to me on the way to the car.

Suddenly out of nowhere Lou appeared again with her eyes looking just fine, right as we were about to get in the van again. When everyone was in the car and Jake and Lou were up front whispering back and forth, I leaned over and asked Millie if she had seen Lou during the interview.

She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Haze do you really need to ask? Of course I saw her! Well after she came back from the bathroom that is. You would have to have been blind and deaf to not notice Lou singing and dancing 

around with us. And the way she kissed Minster Cameo on the cheek when he said you were hired was just over the top! Why do you ask?"

I shook my head in confusion. "No reason, I was just thinking about something."

_This didn't make sense at all._

Then I decided I needed to check something. I tapped Millie on the shoulder again because she had just turned back to the window.

"Hey Millie," I asked, "Can I ask you something?"

She turned and said, "Anything Hazel, ask away."

I gulped down my nervousness and debated on the best way to phrase this.

"How would you describe Lou if she was missing and you had to give the police a description of her?"

She seemed confused by my question and answered warily, "All right Hazel, what up? That's the second really weird and obvious question you've asked me in five minutes. Is there any reason Lou would be missing? Do we need to worry about her?"

I racked my brain for an explanation that didn't make me seem as though I were crazy and hallucinating.

"I... um... I... I had a horrible dream last night that Lou was kidnapped and I can't stop thinking about it."

I smacked myself internally for sounding so stupid. The reasonable little voice from this morning popped back into my head. _Well stupid is better than insane at this point. Besides, you can always blame the nightmare on stress. It's happened before._

I was just wondering if the little voice meant I was schizophrenic when Millie's voice broke me out of my revere.

"Oh that makes sense then; I guess the stress of not having much any cash around the apartment got to you. If it makes you feel any better, I'd say Lou is a middle aged woman with only a few wrinkles and gray hairs with curly strawberry blonde hair that reaches to the middle of her back, a little bit of a tan, with green and brown hazel eyes that have little gold streaks in them. Does that make you feel better Hazel?"

I tried to hide my worry and said, "Yeah, I guess it helps. Thanks Millie."

By now I was biting my bottom lip so hard I could taste a few of the salty scarlet drops in my mouth.

As soon as she turned away my heart started pounding and I was starting to hyperventilate. I noticed Lou was staring at me in the rearview mirror intently; it was the kind of look she got when she was solving the paper's crossword puzzle. The idea that she didn't understand was both comforting and scary at the same time.

I tried to piece together the mismatched facts.

I had seen Lou, but her eyes were all wrong, and she was in a sort of trance. Millie is a very unimaginative person and she said she saw Lou the entire time, and that she came back a few minutes after she left for the bathroom. I didn't see her at all. Jake is hiding something about Lou. I don't know what. Millie also said her eyes were green and brown with streaks of gold with a nice tan colored skin tone. Lou's eyes are the color of honey and she's a pale as a porcelain doll.

There is something big going on here. Something big and sinister and I think I just landed right in the middle of it.

Lou's eyes now held concern and she was turning back to put her hand on my forehead, but I flinched away. She looked hurt for a moment then muttered something under her breath and a little green spark flew off of her fingertip and landed on my palm. It seemed to dissolve into my skin like it had never been there.

Instantly I felt drowsy and light headed. The seats spun around my head and I was falling. But even in my disorientation, I did not miss the significant look Jake and Lou shared. Jake seemed mad, and Lou seemed apologetic, then just before my vision blurred to the point where I couldn't see anymore Lou whispered very quietly and quickly, "She knows."

I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to see the end of Missy's gasp of shock.

--

I was released from my unconsciousness with none of the slowness that I've experienced before. One moment I was floating in a white cloudy area which didn't seem to have any air-conditioning, and the next I was in a dark space I recognized as my room.

But now the shelves were spinning and about to crash down on me and the tight confines of the room weren't cozy, they were claustrophobic and choking. It was like I was being strangled in my own bed by nothing but air and the inclosing walls.

I was about to scream for help when I noticed the slim figure on the edge of my bed shifted her hand, and the tightness of my throat lessened.

By now the silky white moonlight that spilled gracefully in through my window had illuminated pinkish curls and bright golden eyes, and I knew it was Lou sitting there.


	6. Secrets

Grave Sweeper

**CH. 5- Secrets she can't reveal**

I felt a tiny stab of fear, and then rationality kicked in. Why would the woman I viewed as my mother hurt me? I was being stupid. And yet a trace of animalistic fear remained in me for some reason.

She patted my damp forehead and murmured comfortingly, "Shhhh. Relax honey, you're hallucinating. You have a very high fever."

I could still feel the fever burning in my face, but I was able to speak temporarily.

"Didn't hallucinate," I was gasping by now, "Earlier you... At the basin... Weren't there for interview... Don't know how... You tricked Millie and Missy... What's going on?"

As a reply, she snapped her fingers and a little green spark flew out of my palm. My eyes widened and I noticed that while everything still ached with that post-sickness feeling, I was a now normal temperature and feeling fine. While I was staring stupidly at my palm trying to figure out how in the hell a little green spark had just passed through it, Lou began speaking quietly.

"Hazel, I need you to know a few things." I nodded when she looked up to see if I was listening. She continued with her speech.

"First, I know the little green spark is confusing, but I controlled it and made you sick so you wouldn't say something to put you all in danger. If it could have been avoided at all, I swear I would have never put you through that. 

But I panicked and then your friends would have been wondering about sudden hallucinations, fever, and lightheadedness that went away in twenty minutes, rather than just you suddenly feeling sick. If they were wondering, they might have figured out a very dangerous secret. A very dangerous and potentially deadly secret, do you see why I did what I did?"

I nodded slowly; freaky green sparks flying in and out of palms didn't make sense, but Lou trying to protect us did. I could understand that much.

She took my cautious nodding as a signal to continue and started up again.

"Secondly, I don't know how you saw what you did, but you aren't going insane. You just saw something Millie and Missy won't ever see unless we show them. And while I'm sure you would love to tell them and get their opinions, they won't believe you and we'll have even more problems on our hands. Okay?"

I sighed in relief, I needed to hear that. How I saw things my friends _can't _see is beyond me and makes about as much sense as that little spark thing, but I was very glad to know I wasn't losing my mind. Lou looked back up at me through her pretty side swept bangs and spoke timidly.

"You need to understand that I can't tell you some things, but if you have some questions, which I'm sure you do, I'd be happy to answer them for you."

Oh where, oh where, oh where to begin?

I looked up at the ceiling while I spoke.

"Explain the little green spark guy, what was that thing?"

I heard her sparkling wind chime laugh fill the room with a myriad of light and color for a moment. She was trying to hold back her laughter, but she wasn't doing too well.

"I thought you would ask about that! Well, I'm sure you've guessed I'm not exactly the definition of "normal human being" right?"

I nodded; I wonder what might have given me the hint? She continued.

"Well as a part of being... the classification of not normal human being that I am, you get a certain ability based on who you were before. I was never sick when I was a normal human being, so now I control some forms of diseases like that little spark you saw. I happened to use a severe but mostly unidentifiable case of Spanish influenza on you because that is a prevalent disease in this area's history. You remember the epidemic in the early 1900's right?"

Oh yes, how could I forget the many torturous semesters I spent in grade school being preached to about the epidemic of Spanish influenza? Lou started up again.

"I could have given you anything, but I knew that would knock you out for a while, and it's easier to use native diseases when I do that little spark trick. If we were in say Mexico when this happened, I probably would have used Montezuma's revenge **(AN: this is a common stomach bug that you get from drinking the water down there)** because that's what's in that area. Did you follow that?"

So good old Lou controlled diseases? I always wondered why we never got sick in this little shoebox apartment complex. I mentioned this to her and she laughed and told me that she did practice a little favoritism with her disease control.

We spent the next hour or so playing "Hazel-asks-questions-to-guess-what-the-hell-is-going-on-here-while-Lou- laughs-at-her-questions-and-only-answers-a-few-that-don't-really-mean-anything" And for all of my effort to catch her off guard, all I learned was that earlier in front of the basin, she had been performing a ritual to help her with a "problem" that comes with her "condition of not being a normal human being", that she was "not a normal human being" while Jake was "half normal and half not" which she wouldn't explain to me how that was possible, and that she and Jake were not actually Lou Drassmartel and Jake Drassmartel.

I came across that last bit as she was laughing at my feeble guesses of what "not a normal human being" meant, when I said out of the blue, "You're not really Lou are you?" I had not really meant it seriously, but the way she stopped laughing immediately and eyed me suspiciously told me I was getting somewhere with my interrogation. So I waited patiently as I could while Lou took a deep breath and explained.

"Well, no technically I'm not. You see I was placed under a sort of... witness protection program for people who have the same condition of not being a "normal human being" a long time ago, and part of that plan is you change your name and move. I was, well, am I suppose, Annette Drezaldenfern, but that would be too easy to trace, so Ben a- well you know him as my son Jake, but he's really a younger cousin named Ben Drezaldenfern. Either way, Ben wouldn't let me leave alone, so against my better judgment, he also changed his name and we posed as mother and son. So no, I'm not Lou."

That wasn't what I had been expecting at all.

And worse, that random comment seemed to have changed the mood of our conversation from happy to downright depressing.

She continued again, this time with a more serious tone.

"You should know that we belong to a... group of people like us, and they don't like it when people who aren't like us find out. They call it a "security problem", because not all of us walk around and try to be normal people, not all of us even can for certain... reasons, and if the rest of the world found out..." She paused with a thoughtful expression as though trying to figure out how much she wanted to tell me. "Well suffice to say, the world wouldn't understand and mass chaos and hysteria would break out." She seemed ready to cry when she continued.

"And when people do find out, they either kill them and the people who gave the secret away, or they turn them into one of us, and that's very painful. Three days of agony that intense and unrelenting is not something I would ever wish upon anyone, no matter how much I hated them and wanted them to suffer."

I sat stock still, frozen from fear and confusion. My thoughts poured out like sand slipping through my fingers. Was Lou saying she was part of a cult? And what's this about murder or three days of agony if anyone found out? Isn't the point of a cult to gain more members? If it wasn't a cult than what is it?

She rubbed at her eyes even though I could see no trace of tears. She spoke in a quavering whisper after a moment of sniffling.

"I-I'll understand i-if you want t-to leave for your s-safety honey. I w-won't make you s-stay here if y-you don't want to h-have anything to do with us n-now. Th-that's o-one of the r-reasons we d-didn't say a-anything b-before now; w-we loved you g-guys t-too m-much to e-even think of risking you l-leaving." Her shaky voice broke on the last word.

I looked up from the corner of blanket I had been fingering while I was preoccupied with my thoughts. I didn't see Lou. Lou was a proud, girly, and strong woman, but the shadowy figure I saw before me was trembling with jagged sobs and terrified whimpers. The girl who sat so broken in front of me, weeping without tears, was not Lou. She was 

someone else entirely. I supposed that maybe this was Annette, the person she rarely showed outside of her Lou persona.

I reached out to comfort her, but she shrugged my hand off her shoulder and murmured, "No, you don't need to feel sorry for me," She offered a sarcastic little smile then; "You need sleep to recover from your 24-hour bug. I really should go though."

I was just about to ask her how she would get out of the house without waking Millie and Missy, who were, unlike me, notoriously light sleepers, when she stood and moved to my window.

I thought she was getting a bit of fresh air, but she surprised me by leaping out of the window and landing on the next roof over. The next roof was some twenty feet away.

I leaned out the window and whispered, "Part of not being a "normal human" right?"

The responding ghostly, yet strangely perfect laugh haunted me in my dreams that night.


	7. Tickled pink

**CH 6- Torture is my synonym for tickling-**

I woke up half expecting Lou (or should I call her Annette now?) to be sitting at the foot of my bed, but instead I was greeted by Missy wafting a mug of coffee under my nose.

"Hey sleeping beauty! How was the hundred year sleep? Are you feeling any better today?" I rolled my eyes at her and nodded while reached for the coffee, but she put her hand in my face and said, "Nope, this is mine; yours is waiting for you in Millie's room. That's where we decided to have breakfast 'cause the kitchen table is covered in paperwork that we need to fill out for our taxes now that you're working again."

I stood up and was reaching for the shelves that had my clothes piled on them, but Missy cut me off, telling me that they were going to be picking out my outfit for my first day of work since being a secretary. I'll spare you all of the gory details, but it didn't work out well.

Missy bounded off alone, and I was left to sluggishly limp up the cast-iron spiral staircase after her. I muttered under my breath about how everyone I know is a morning person, with the exception of me. Why am I so unlucky?

I walked further up the winding stairs and paused before the white door that was adorned with hand done ivy stencil work. I smiled when I saw them, remembering how we had almost ran out of green because we had gotten into a paint fight.

I had just put my hand on the door knob when a low soft voice spoke behind me, and I jumped about three feet in the air. I spun around with a gasp and deep masculine laughter echoed quietly in the hall. There was Jake/Ben leaned casually up against the wall staring at me intensely with those endless ochre eyes.

My hand flew to my forehead and I sighed in annoyance saying, "Jake, must you always give me a heart attack at least three times a day? Is there some sort of insane quota you have to fill? Is it that you just enjoy freaking me out at-" I glanced down at the slim turquoise and black watch wrapped around my wrist for just long enough to see the time blinking up at me in big turquoise digital lettering, "-5:03 am?"

Jake stood up straight and said in a laughing voice, "You wish pipsqueak; do you mind if I talk to you for a few minutes?"

Pipsqueak. The dreaded nickname Jake uses when he wants me to do something against my better judgment. So what if Jake's almost eight inches taller than me? (Did I forget to mention he's 6' 3" while I am a mere 5'7"?) Missy's shorter than me and he doesn't call _her_ pipsqueak!

The other thing about pipsqueak was that it always worked.

"Well you kind of already are, so I won't stop you. What did you want to talk about?" I try to get some breakfast, and instead I get faced with a friend who finds it quite funny when I have heart palpitations. Why do mornings hate me so?

Jake's eyes flew to the door for a brief moment and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he said, "Ah, how about we find somewhere more private to talk?" He nodded his head to the door and mouthed, "Eavesdropping" to me. I was so going to kill those two.

I shrugged indifferently and walked back to my room with Jake following closely behind me. It was kind of unnerving with him standing so close I could hear his long even breaths, but even with the short space between us, his footsteps remained silent. Did he float or something?

I opened the door and gestured inside, before I realized how I must still have horrible bed head and turned a rosy shade of pink. "Um, hey Jake, would you mind terribly if I went to grab a hair brush really quick?" His head snapped up and he shrugged, "Sure, if you want to."

I breathed in a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, I'll be right back." before sprinting down the hall to the bathroom. I splashed my face with some water from the sink to hopefully erase some of the traitorous red stains across my cheeks, before grabbing the hairbrush and sprinting back to my room where Jake still sat perched on the edge of my bed, looking very much like a giant in a doll's room.

I sat down beside him and began attempting to tame the various knots in my hair and he sighed and just sat there watching me for a bit. Eventually, as he saw me struggle with a knot I swear was the size of Texas; he reached over and touched my hand gently, effectively stopping me in my tracks with his cool touch.

"Need some help?" I nodded looking up and feeling grateful that he and I were good enough friends that this wouldn't be too awkward.

"Kind of." I mumbled under my breath.

He laughed in that deep bass tone and moved further up on the bed so that he was behind me, and I passed him the brush so he could get rid of that mammoth knot.

Jake was being surprisingly quiet; a rare deviation from his normal outgoing behavior. The silence seemed to be pressing on my ear drums to the point where it felt as though they were going to pop from the pressure. I decided to break the quiet that had settled.

"So, what did you want to talk about? You never really said earlier." I prompted him, and the gentle brushing rhythm he had settled into was momentarily disrupted before it started up again.

I couldn't see his face from my position, so I couldn't gauge his reaction to being reminded why we were sitting here. To my relief, his voice was quiet and musing when he finally spoke; as though he were speaking of the weather. "Hmm? Truth be told, I was just wondering how much Lou told you last night; I swear, when she doesn't want to talk, she closes up like an oyster. All she would say was, "Ask Hazel." so I figured that's what I'd do." He paused a moment, then, "What _did_ she tell you?"

I snorted with laughter, "Jake do you remember the grade I got in English 101 for summarizing? I do, and it wasn't very pretty."

I could hear the smile in is voice when he replied, "Yes Hazel, I remember, but it doesn't change the fact that I want to know what our story is."

I turned around with my eyebrows raised, "And what if I don't want to tell you?"

Jake was shaking his head slowly back and forth, as a wicked grin spread across his alabaster face. "Hazel, don't make me do this. Please don't."

"Answer my question and I'll answer yours, what if I don't want to tell you?" I was near laughing at our little question game by now.

Without missing a beat in the conversation, Jake said, "Well," He paused as if he were seriously considering his options even though his mischievous expression said otherwise, "I guess I'd have to do _THIS_!" And on the last word he lunged for me fingers raised and I realized what my fate was. Death by tickling. Oh please dear sweet god, no.

I'm sure everyone within three city blocks heard my resounding shriek, "JAAAAAAAKE!" a few moments later followed by, "NOOOOOOO! THAT'S NOT _FAIR_! DON'T _TICKLE_ ME!" Jake was kneeling over me and tickling me up and down my sides, under my chin, on the back of my neck, everywhere, even in some places I didn't realize were ticklish. I guess you learn something new every day.

Finally my resolve weakened, and I shouted, "I give up! I'll tell you what Lou said!" Immediately the tickling stopped and I sat up in time to see Jake stretching his fingers, claiming that tickling someone for so long cramped them. I rolled my eyes, _as if_.

I briefly glazed over the facts and told him to tell Lou that her answers were absolutely infuriating. He laughed and told me that they were supposed to be, so in retaliation I elbowed him in the chest. I might've elbowed a rock and got a better response; my elbow then sprouted a rather violently purple bruise out of nowhere. I looked up at him and his expression was one of self-exasperation mixed with that "oh no" feeling you get as soon as you realize your mistake.

"Err, sorry about that..." was his intelligent answer. He glanced up at the tiny silver alarm clock and upon seeing the neon green time 6:02, he stood up and mumbled something about having to run an errand for Lou as he walked out the door.

I stood up after he left and smoothed down my clothes. I guess now I was going to have to talk to the giggle girls. I mentally braced myself as I walked towards the trap that was surely already set for me.


	8. M&Ms

**CH 7 – M&M's Interrogation**

For the second time this morning, I touched the doorknob that led to Millie's room, though this time it was with quite a bit more dread. I knew I was in for a long session of giggles from my M&Ms. Missy and Millie turned into wolves around gossip.

I opened the door a crack and poked my head in ready to escape if need be. To my immense surprise they were both sitting on the bed looking, if anything, a bit morose. I wasn't sure yet if it was safe, but they had already noticed me so I wasn't going to run now.

I stepped all the way into the room and rather than face them walked across Millie's spacious white room, past the bed, and to the opposite wall where the bird cage was. The bird cage contained two birds; Peaches the white dove with the sweetest disposition you'll ever see, and Mister Cheeps, the bright green, orange, and pink parakeet who'll talk to you day and night unless you put the cover over the cage. They were looking friendlier than the two girls on the bed at the moment.

I was opening the cage to pet Peaches when I heard the sad little sigh behind me. I cringed and shut the cage again before slowly turning around to see a wide eyed Millie staring me down while Missy was looking away and sniffing. They were not looking very happy right now, but I was quite aware they were plotting. Millie was the first one to cry while Missy grabbed a pillow and either punched it or hugged it, so I knew they were messing with me.

The sad thing is I'm not sure which idea I liked less.

Millie sat there lip quivering like she'd been slapped, and asked "So our friendship means so little to you?" I was being cautious, but I stepped a little closer to the bed before I let myself walk into the trap I knew I'd be caught in anyway.

"What do you mean?" I asked hesitantly, and this time Missy spoke still without looking at me. Her voice quivered with hurt and anger, and though I knew it was an act it sort of stung.

"Friends tell friends things. Friends don't go behind your back about things like this." Now I was confused; teasing I expected, but not this... what was the point?

"I repeat; what do you mean?" I was getting impatient now. And that, I suppose was the foot that landed me in the bear trap, because the next minute they Millie was leaning over Missy tickling her while Missy shrieked.

I groaned, knowing exactly how bad this was going to get. I briefly considered everything they could throw at me (yikes, I'd left a lot of room to be teased) and then over any possible escape routes (very slim, seeing as I'd foolishly let them get between me and the door) and then crossed over to the bed and sat down.

"Fine, what are you going to tease me about now? Let's just get it over with." They abruptly stopped the reenactment and righted themselves with identical smirks. Missy spoke first with a seemingly innocent look on her face.

"Tease you Hazel? Oh no, we're not that mean, we just want the answer to our question. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" I did not like the looks of this.

"Tell you what?" I asked the suspicion clearly plastered across my face.

Millie leaned over with an indulgent look as though she were explaining a simple concept to a small child who didn't get it. "Silly little Hazel; why didn't you tell us _that you were totally in love with Jake sooner_?!"

My mouth fell open much like a fish running out of water with that statement. "Wh-wh-what?" I spluttered. Unexpected, and totally embarrassing. Why didn't I run when I had the chance?

"Oh my god spill!" Missy squeaked, "Why oh why, dearest Hazel, was Jake visiting you so early in the morning? And then would you like to explain to me why he was tickling you? Dish. Now. I command it!"

I spent the better part of twenty minutes trying to explain exactly how much I didn't like Jake, but they, of course, didn't believe a word I said, while trying to get dressed for work. Millie would shove a shirt at me, Missy would ask me an incriminating and unrelated question, and I would try my hardest to shove both away until they wore me down and I grabbed the shirt and shoved it over my head for a grand total of three seconds before Missy snatched it off and tossed me a new one while Millie laughed at me.

Sometimes I think my friends hate me.

Finally, _finally,_ my friends agreed on a plain faded gray pair of boot cut jeans and a pale rose colored Henley with some glitter on the edges of the long sleeves and seems. The exact outfit I'd suggested in the beginning. I glared half-heartedly at them, and they just grinned.

They're crazy.

Absolutely fricking crazy.

**(A/N- Sorry for the lack of updates! Don't bite my head off please! I posted two chapters see? :) I've just been busy working on my own stories that I can't post on here 'cause they're original, and school, and reading other books instead of writing, and stress, and, and, and BLAH! *head explodes* Either way, this story will probably go on hold for a while, I won't guarantee I'll be posting to this any time soon, but again, please leave my head on my shoulder where it belongs, and not in a bloody heap on the ground.)**


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